Monday morning when the various crews returned to work after the holidays 2 big problems were encountered which will prevent the hoped for opening of the southbound lanes this Wednesday. Beyond the pedestrian fence can be seen a section the the barrier wall that still has forms awaiting concrete but SW Transit's concrete factory was broken down again, this time for the whole day which will delay certain other work.

Last week just before holiday break all the bigwigs had a big huddle, the surveyor was surveying, engineering drawings were poured over and after much gesturing and waving of arms it was determined the the slope of the road approaching the bridge was inadequate. Monday morning when the SW Transit crew arrived to fix the problem they found the dirt frozen sold and unable to be grated. After some thaw the bridge crew loaned SW Transit some blankets and black plastic in the hopes that their work on the slope can continue Tuesday morning.

After the slope is correct and passes inspection about 12 inches of road base will be placed and compacted then, given a 40 plus degree and rising day the asphalt will be placed. Each evening to bridge crew will assist SW Transit in covering the work area and have offered their propane heaters as needed. Note the curve as defined by the already placed curb and gutter and the orangeish concrete funnel bucket that sat idle all day waiting for concrete to finish the barrier wall. To be fair, SW Transit has provided, for them, a record number, nearly 10 thousand cubic yards of concrete for this job and others around town.

In all seriousness, these delays should not be surprising anyone just as all of the numerous delays at the beginning should not have. This is a huge job and they are trying to do the finish work at one of the worst times of the year for certain materials to cure, i.e. concrete and asphalt. What frustrates me is the fact that they keep throwing out "possible" dates of re-opening the bridge, although I have not heard a new one as of yet. Most people in this town get their hopes up based on a date, only to be let down time and time again. I say just let them do their job, weather permitting, and the day I see the "Bridge Out" sign removed from Hudson Street will be the day we have all been waiting for.

I agree GCR, when they apologetically tell me a new date or that they won't make a given date, my response is usually "I don't care as long as the work is done properly and safely" (I've written it on these pages) and that "I'm glad they all got extra time off for the holidays". These are the important things.

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